Darrell Hazell has announced the first six members of his coaching staff at Purdue.

Jon Heacock is in his second season as the defensive backs coach for the Boilermakers.

Heacock joined the Boilermaker staff after spending the two previous seasons with Darrell Hazell at Kent State. Serving as the defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, Heacock's Golden Flashes forced 38 takeaways in 2012, second among all FBS schools, to help lead to a FBS-best 1.62 turnover margin for the year. The Flashes finished in the upper half of the Mid-American Conference in nearly every defensive statistical category in 2012, including second in rushing and fourth in scoring defense. In his first season at Kent State, Heacock's defense was seventh in the FBS in fumbles recovered and turnover margin, 10th in turnovers gained, 18th in tackles for loss and 21st in total defense.

Prior to joining KSU in 2011, Heacock spent the previous nine seasons as the head coach at Youngstown State, which included a 2006 run to the national semifinals in the Football Championship Subdivision. He was named the Gateway Conference Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and ended his tenure with a 60-44 overall record.

In addition to serving as the head coach at YSU, Heacock also served as the Penguins' defensive coordinator for six years (1992-96, 2000) and defensive backs coach for an additional year (1991), which included Division I-AA national championships in 1991, 1993 and 1994.

He also has Big Ten experience, having served as the defensive coordinator at Indiana from 1997 to 1999 and as a graduate assistant under legendary head coach Bo Schembechler at Michigan.

Heacock played football with Hazell at Muskingum College, graduating in 1983 with a degree in health and physical education.

Quoting Coach Hazell - "Jon is a master at teaching the game. The players under his direction will understand the concepts and schemes of the defense so well that they will be an extension of the coaching staff on the field. His enthusiasm and professionalism will have an immediate impact on our team and help us excel right away. He has recruited the Midwest and Florida with phenomenal results."